ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PICK - ARSENAL V MANCHESTER CITY

English Premier

2025-02-02 - Arsenal vs Manchester City

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Arsenal v Manchester City
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 2nd February 2025 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV

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Arsenal

Some changes were made for Match Day 8 of the Champions League with Arsenal all but assured of a top eight spot before kick off, but the victory over Girona will keep some positive momentum behind the squad ahead of a big Premier League game. The League Cup Semi Final Second Leg is played during the week and Mikel Arteta will be asking for a big few days from his players before they are able to have an extended rest.

We move into the final four months of the season with Arsenal sitting in 2nd place in the Premier League table and 6 points behind Liverpool, who also play their game in hand before The Gunners are next in action. Fans will have a keen interest on how Liverpool perform on Saturday, but the manager and the players have to focus on improving Arsenal's 7-4-0 record at the Emirates Stadium to ensure they do not lose more ground in the title race.

Arsenal produced a couple of poor results in domestic Cup competitions to open this month, but they have bounced back by putting together a run of 4 wins in 5 games. The last time The Gunners played a Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead over Aston Villa in a 2-2 draw.

David Raya missed out on Wednesday, but is expected to be available. Ben White is hoping to rejoin the squad in time for the next Premier League game, while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus are both absent.

Manchester City

As the half time whistle blew at the Etihad Stadium, fans would have been truly concerned that Manchester City were going to somehow fail to finish in the top twenty-four positions of the thirty-six team Champions League Group Stage. Pep Guardiola is happy to have another opportunity to compete, but Manchester City will be facing Bayern Munich or Manchester City in the Play Off Round later this month.

That Play Off tie is coming up in a couple of weeks time, but for now the focus for Manchester City is making sure improved recent Premier League form can continue to tick over. An important win last weekend has pushed Manchester City back into the top four in the table, and they travel to North London with a 5-3-4 record away from home in the Premier League this season.

Manchester City have lost 1 of their last 9 games in all competitions, while the victory over Club Brugge on Wednesday means they have won 6 of their last 8. They are unbeaten in 6 Premier League games having won 4 of their last 5, and Manchester City have lost 1 of their last 5 away Premier League fixtures ahead of this big game.

Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias are hoping to be fit for the Champions League Play Off Round First Leg, but both miss out here. Jeremy Doku is a doubt, but Oscar Bobb will travel. All three new signings who were in the match day squad against Chelsea last Saturday are going to be available.

Head to Head

An injury time goal from John Stones saw Manchester City earn a 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, but that result means they have won none of their last 4 against The Gunners.

Arsenal had lost 8 home games in a row against Manchester City before scoring a late winner against them here last season.

Prediction

This is a really big game on Sunday and the initial feeling is that Manchester City are a very big price to win.

It is certainly the biggest price they will have been when visiting the Emirates Stadium in a long time, but perhaps underlines some of the problems Manchester City have been having all season.

Even recent results have perhaps papered over some of the cracks, although you would certainly favour Arsenal much more if they had Bukayo Saka available for selection.

Manchester City are certainly playing with a bit more confidence going forward, but the defensive problems remain clear to see. They are still without two key centre halves, while neither full back is that convincing and an ageing midfield that cannot cover nearly as well as they would like or need.

The side won on Wednesday to earn a spot in the Play Off Round of the Champions League, but Manchester City were lacking intensity in the first half. They were also playing a team weaker than the one they are visiting on Sunday and you do have to believe that Manchester City are going to have to be a lot more convincing to earn a positive result here.

Even Pep Guardiola has admitted that his team have not been able to control the transitional moments very well with their midfield and this is something that Arsenal have to exploit.

After long being dominated by Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal players have looked much more confident against this opponent over the last eighteen months. They are unbeaten in 4 games against Manchester City in that time and only an injury time goal prevented Arsenal from securing a victory at the Etihad Stadium in September.

The Gunners do look a bit more secure defensively compared with Manchester City and they do still create enough chances to believe they can exploit the Manchester City vulnerabilities at the back. Despite being without Bukayo Saka, Arsenal do have quick players that can carry the ball and really hurt Manchester City on the counter attack and the emotions that the visiting team had to use to continue on their Champions League journey could see them produce a slightly flatter performance on Sunday.

Respect has to be given to Manchester City and beating this team is not going to be easy- they have won 4 of their last 5 Premier League games, but the likes of Leicester City and Brentford have given them issues when hosting in that time.

Brentford came from 0-2 down to earn a draw, but Arsenal can be a bit more positive from the off and The Gunners can be backed to secure an important three points.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :

I'll back Arsenal to Win at 2.00 with BetFred

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